87.6% of State Employees in Hawaiʻi are Fully Vaccinated, 7.6% are Unvaccinated

As of Aug. 16, 87.6% of the state’s approximately 14,000 employees are fully vaccinated, according to new information compiled by the state Department of Human Resources Development. The data does not include the Department of Education or employees with the University of Hawaiʻi.

In addition, 4.8% of state employees are partially vaccinated (more than 600) and 7.6% are unvaccinated (more than 1,000).

On Thursday, Aug. 5, Governor David Ige announced that all state and county employees are required to provide their vaccination status to their department, office or agency. Employees who choose not to be vaccinated are subject to regular COVID-19 testing as of Aug. 16.

DHRD found that as of Aug. 16, 98.6% of state employees are in compliance with the new mandate.

“I am pleased with the vaccination and compliance rates, and I continue to encourage state employees and eligible Hawaiʻi residents to get vaccinated to protect their families, communities and themselves,” said Gov. David Ige.

“I remain optimistic that an increasingly vaccinated workforce will continue to allow our community to move forward,” said Ryker Wada, DHRD director.

The highest fully vaccinated rates came from the Departments of Human Resources & Development (96.3%), Attorney General (94.3%) and Budget & Finance (91%). The lowest fully vaccinated rates came from the Departments of Public Safety (77.1%), Hawaiian Home Lands (80.3%) and Human Services (82.8%).

While all state employees have the option to vaccinate or undergo testing, the report also indicates that 87 people (.6%) have applied for an exemption from the vaccination or testing requirement and 11 (.08%) were placed on leave without pay because they did not return their attestation.